When discussing types of flooring options for commercial buildings, one material that has started gaining attention is rubber. This flooring product is not only safe, durable, aesthetically pleasing but also serves a practical purpose.

Knowing the benefits of this product will prepare you for your flooring makeover. To help you make an informed decision, ProjectLink has listed out a few of them:

Strength

Static Resistant and Sound Absorbency

Anti-Slip

Dimensional Stability

Water Resistant

Longer Lasting

Resistant to Impact

Resistant to Burns and Spills

Stain-Resistant

Homogenous

Pertaining to the easy installation, this flooring is high in demand. It finds its use in schools, gym, hospitals and other commercial areas. The properties that rubber flooring tiles and mats have, make it the best choice to be used as a flooring option in such buildings. Rubber flooring is also being used in cafeterias and commercial kitchens as it offers non-absorbent and anti-slip properties. These can also be installed successfully in restrooms, below-grade basements and garages.

Rubber flooring does not encourage the growth of molds and fungi easily. However, in a couple of years, it requires cleaning and maintenance in such areas. As a whole, it proves to be a useful flooring option.

While planning or renovating building services, clean inlets for hot water are now a must. If the building hosts restaurants, dining areas or facilities like hotel rooms, one must keep in mind that hot water is essential.

Of course, when installing hot water systems in commercial buildings, the planning and management will never be as easy as a simple water geyser.

Reliability and regulation play a key factor in commercial setups so it’s important to know what you are getting into.

Commercial water heaters can be a major pain point in your business when equipment malfunctions. Similar to the heating and air-conditioning, water heaters may also become the source of major expenses, with energy consumption increasing your utility bills or equipment needing frequent repairs.

Who doesn’t dream of an attractive home with beautiful roof, exterior walls, and a garden with a natural setting? While purchasing a new house that fulfills your entire wishlist can always be a big step, availability of affordable options to transform your existing house into a dream one would be a great choice to exercise.

There are a lot of ways to brighten up your home’s exterior appearance, where the cladding is one of the most appreciated and affordable ways for your new house or even for renovation.

Apart from being an aesthetic tool, cladding forms a protective shield around your house, adding to the mechanical strength of the building’s structure. Ensheathing the house walls, facade, roof, and canopies with cladding ensures that your house is robustly resistant to sunlight, moisture, rain, strong winds, and pollutants. Indeed, cladding materials always prove to be more tolerant to cracks compared to non-clad ones.

There are many cladding options available in the Australian market today. Be it renovation or a fresh construction, it is important to make sure you are aware of the differences between these products and what is going to offer the best solution for your home.

To help you out with your choices, ProjectLink has bundled up the 12 most affordable yet attractive cladding ideas. These options not only give your home a glamorous look but will fit your budget too. Browse these options and find the perfect choice for your project.

Skyscrapers have been long part of urban cityscapes. They are typically found in busy and dense urban areas and are considered especially convenient for commercial and business areas.

Today, skyscrapers are an increasingly common sight where land is expensive, as in the centers of big cities, because they provide such a high ratio of rentable floor space per unit area of land.

History of High Rise

With our growing technological pace it is hard to imagine that the first skyscrapers were built in the 1880s! Although high rise apartments of over 10 stories have been found in Ancient Roman civilisations. The structural definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on engineering developments of the 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-story buildings. This definition was based on the steel skeleton as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry.

The American technological revolution of 1880 to 1890 saw a burst of creativity in architecture and civil structure technology. It produced a wave of new inventions that helped architects to build higher than ever before: Bessemer steel, formed into I-sections in the new rolling mills which enabled taller and more flexible frame design than the cast iron of the previous era; the newly-patented sprinkler head allowed buildings to escape the strict, 23-metre height limit, which was imposed to control the risk of fire; and the patenting of AC electricity allowed elevators to be electrically powered and rise to ten or more stories.

Need for High Rise

As urbanisation becomes a key aspect of modern living, the need for space is essential. Cities find it far more convenient to build vertically than to spread horizontally. This is a key factor in managing city infrastructure and makes it easier for the governing bodies to manage the demands of a growing population.

The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe, habitable spaces in very tall buildings. The buildings must support their weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire. Yet they must also be conveniently accessible, even on the upper floors, and provide utilities and a comfortable climate for the occupants. The problems posed in skyscraper design are considered among the most complex encountered given the balances required between economics, engineering, and construction management.

Sustainability

In recent years the term Sustainability has turned from a trend to a necessity. Sustainability in the context of high rise buildings includes the built and natural environments, including the performance of structures, types of materials, construction practices, absolute minimal use of materials and natural resources, energy within the structure, and a holistically integrated building systems approach.

Sustainability covers economic benefit, resource efficiency, environmental protection and social development. Well developed building codes are now geared towards sustainability. It is common practice for local and central government to build committees to provide sustainability and environmental codes. These codes must keep in mind both sustenance and business in mind. The LEED certification is an internationally recognised green building standard that has found great acceptance around the globe.

‘Construction’ is an industry that has garnered tremendous growth over the last few years. Even in the periods where some of the other industries have faced pressure, there are no signs to suggest any slow down for this industry. The high rate of growth in the industry, in turn requires commensurate manpower to manage and drive this industry growth. This industry is creating more number of jobs than ever before. If you are in any way associated with this field, you are in luck!

Before we talk further about the kind of employment opportunities that construction industry can offer, let’s have a quick look at the sectors that it comprises.

The industry is broadly segregated in three main sectors:

Building Construction

Infrastructure Construction

Industrial Construction

While the basics of the above three remain the same, work requirements, skill specialisations and employment opportunities differ across these sectors.

As the name suggests, Building Construction involves construction of residential or non-residential buildings. Residential construction includes building of houses/buildings from scratch, or carrying out small renovations such as addition of rooms in a house. The non-residential sector includes construction of commercial buildings such as offices, malls and marketplaces and institutional buildings like schools, colleges and other educational or vocational buildings.

The infrastructure construction sector covers the construction of highways, bridges, dams etc. Since the backbone of this sector is engineering, it is also referred to as heavy engineering sector. The infrastructure projects have a larger impact as they become a key impetus to the growth of an economy.

The third sector is the industrial sector. This includes construction of manufacturing plants, mills, chemical and power plants, refineries etc.

The dynamics of construction change according to the project, and the need for specialisation required for these projects. In the recent times, the requirement for construction workers has been on a rise. The construction industry can offer a wide array of job opportunities. From masons to carpenters, from civil engineers to construction managers, there are quite a few options available depending on your speciality of expertise.

With the increase in awareness about the construction process and the competition in the industry, construction agencies have become all the more important as they save the clients of most of the operational hassle involved in a construction project.

The changing market dynamics have also led to development of new construction methods and technologies. These aim at increasing the efficiency and performance and reduce environmental-damaging waste. These new methods have led to creation of new processes, which in turn has created many new construction jobs.

One such function that has come to the fore as a key one is that of a design team. The design team translates ideas, suggestions, requirements and design into reality. It can consists of architects, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, electrical and structural engineers, planning consultants, architectural consultants etc. Usually the property owners recruit their own design team. However, the incidence of agencies getting their own design teams to work on projects can also be seen quite often.

A construction project also requires people holding important roles such as construction managers, interior designers, accountants, mortgage bankers and cost engineers. Some of these functions are more salient in case of Infrastructure and Industrial construction projects.

There are many important semi-skilled or specialised construction jobs that you can look at. ProjectLink brings to you some of these options and their importance: